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July 31, 2024
'The Knife Angel', by artist Alfie Bradley, is a contemporary sculpture made from over 100,000 seized blades on display in Lancashire, United Kingdom.
Oxfordians consider the rise of stabbings in the UK “unsettling” and “horrific” in light of the recent Southport attack,near Liverpool, in which three young children were killed.
On July 29, it is suspectedthat a 17 year-old male, allegedly masked, entered a dance and yoga studio running a Taylor Swift themed event and committed the stabbings which resulted in eight children being injured, with five of them in critical condition.
Later that day, the police announcedthat the suspect, who was from Banks in Lancashire, born in Cardiff, had been arrested on suspicion of murder and will be interviewed by detectives.
“Events like this are always unsettling,” Katie Witcher, 20, from Georgia, United States, currently residing in Oxford, told Harbinger’s Magazine.
“Obviously it’s scary to hear news like this, it’s pretty horrific and my hearts go out to everyone involved in it,” said Rhianne Burniston, 36, a mother of two girls from Oxfordshire.
Stephanie De Bruyn, a 23 year-old Oxford student from the Netherlands said that she had become more aware of her surroundings given the news.
Reflecting on possible solutions, many believe that a larger presence of police on the streets would be helpful. “You can find the insecurities in the security system,” said Witcher.
“Generally in Oxford I feel very safe but, there are certain neighbourhoods in the UK that are more dangerous and need more of a watch than others,” said De Bruyn.
On the other hand, Daniel Kim, a Christian pastor in Oxford for some training, thinks that a more unconventional approach is required. “I have a more holistic sense of organisations, charities, communities and churches getting involved. The increase in violence against young people, as in younger people towards younger people, I find quite disconcerting,” said Kim.
Before COVID-19, there were a high of 54,300 annual offences involving a knife or sharp object. During the pandemic, the number decreased to 44,000.
Now crimes involving knives and sharp objects are back on the rise in England and Wales, with a 4% annual increase recorded by the police in the year ending March 2024. During this period, 50,510 offences took place, 2101 more than the previous year.
